IDAHOT: 102 and counting

Saturday is IDAHOT, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.  It’s a little annoying that there is only one day for this…rather than it being a year-round concern.

To kick off the event, I’ve got some data for you.  The Transgender Violence Tracking Portal is a new project, started in March of this year…so their data is a bit limited by the fact that only 14 countries have submitted data to them so far.

the TVTP project was created to allow public access and grassroots reporting of incidents of violence, and any registered user to easily query the TVTP database at any time to see the anti-transgender violence that has been reported.  Researchers will be drawing from standard sources (news media, law enforcement, GLBT groups and many other sources) for additional and corroborative data.

IDAHOT (formerly IDAHO) was created in 2004 to draw attention to the dangers associated with homophobia and transphobia and promote a world of tolerance, respect and freedom regardless of people’s sexual orientations or gender identities.  Over 100 countries have held IDAHOT events to raise awareness.

The TVTP reports that 2014 there were over 102 incidents of anti-transgender violence between January 1 and April 30, 2014.  That includes 102 murders reported, 9 other incidents of violence, and 4 cases of silicone abuse.  While it is all tragic, this year’s data include a heart-wrenching number of youth victims.

• An 8-year old boy was beaten to death by father for being transgender
• A 14 year old strangled to death and stuffed under a bed
• Two 16 year olds were shot to death
• Three 18 year olds stabbed to death, dismembered, or shot
• Two 18 year olds murdered with no details being reported
• An 18 year old suffered two violent attacks by a mob and survived

In other words, around 9% of of the reported violence was directed at transgender young people.

Of the 102 murders, 36 persons were shot multiple times, 14 suffered multiple stab wounds, 11 were beaten to death, 3 were burned to death, 3 were dismembered or otherwise mutilated, 2 were tortured, 2 were strangled, 1 was lynched, 1 had her throat cut, and at least one was stoned to death.

And with only 14 countries represented in that tally, we know with absolute certainty that these data are a massive undercount.

Distribution of the murders, by country is as follows:  

Brazil – 72, Argentina – 6, Peru – 6, Venezuela – 3, Mexico – 4, Belize – 1, India – 1, Columbia – 3, Bangladesh – 1, Ecuador – 2, Turkey – 2, Canada – 1.

The cases of non-lethal violence reported were distributed thusly:  

Chile – 1, United States – 3 (Chicago, New York, Arkansas), Belize – 1, Brazil – 2, Peru – 1, Argentina – 1.

Highlighting:

Name:  Alex Medeiros  

Age: 8

Date of Death: 02/17/2014

Location:  Brazil

Cause of Death:  Beaten

Remarks:  Father beat the boy to ‘teach him to be a man’.  The little boy liked to bellydance and to wear his sister’s clothing.

Source:  homofobiamata.wordpress.com

Investigation Status:  Under Investigation — Case No: 1151